Congress Gives Final OK to $87.5 Billion for Iraq, Afghanistan

[demdave]

WASHINGTON (AP) - Congress voted its final approval Monday for $87.5 billion for U.S. military operations and aid in Iraq and Afghanistan, a day after Americans in Iraq endured their worst casualties since March.


In an anticlimactic moment for which only a handful of senators appeared, the Senate approved the bill by voice and handed a legislative victory to President Bush, who had requested a similar package two months ago. The voice vote - in which Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., was the only one to shout "Nay" - let lawmakers sidestep the roll call that usually accompanies major legislation.


In the starkest departure from Bush's proposal, there is $18.6 billion - $1.7 billion below the president's plan - for retooling Iraq's economy and government. This included funds for clinics, power and water supplies and training police officers and entrepreneurs.

http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGARMM04LMD.html


Cowards, a voice vote!!

[gratuitous]

1. Voice vote?

They're spending $87 billion, and no one wants it on record that he voted for it? What manner of crap be this? "Coward" is almost too nice a term.

[Copperred]

2. Real honorable people....

I don't get it....we invade these countries then we dont want to pay to rebuild them?

Afghanistan and Iraq, assuming stability, need major US economic support for reconstruction. Right now, it is looking like Afghanistan has a better chance at that then Iraq.

www.winthepeace.org
www.american-afghan.com

[FlashHarry]

4. I agree. You break it, you buy it.

It's like having your kid break a neighbor's window. You can't 'un-break' the window, but you can pay to have it replaced. I wish to hell we hadn't invaded Iraq, but I know that we can't just pull out to let it become a terror vacuum.

That being said, however, I do think that we should go to the UN to try to get non-US troops and money there. Remember, only $20 billion of the $87 billion is for reconstruction. The rest if for the armed forces.

[gratuitous]

6. On the contrary, they are paying for rebuilding, and top dollar, too!

It's just that nobody in the Senate (apparently) wants a recorded vote that might come back to bite them in the ass next November. Let's face it, this $87 billion (Oops, it became $87.5 billion, but what's $500 million between friends?) has been very poorly accounted for, and I don't recall seeing any responsible itemization of just why $87.5 billion is needed, how long it's needed for, and what we're expecting to get for that money. What are the benchmarks? How will we, the taxpayers -- who are, after all footing this bill -- know whether we've gotten good value for our money? And will there be any sort of audit that we the taxpayers can review to see that it wasn't just a funneling of the treasury into a few overstuffed military contractors' pockets?

[GOPBasher]

15. I support money to the Afgans, I don't support money to Iraq, b/c

I don't think we should have fucking invaded them in the first place.

[Elidor]

3. Bastards!

Craven, shameless hypocrites! Never has congress been more out of touch with its constituents and their interests. May they all rot in the fiery hell they so richly deserve.

[sventvkg]

7. that's exactly what i was going to write!!! seroiusly though..

I know i have been going on and on about it but I have just become plainly aware that even the democrats area but a small degree of separation from the repugs..I feel vindicated when i said that they all suck and i can not and will not support the washington insiders that are helping the extreme right ruin this country..If you all do not see it and think any of the insider dem candidates are really going to do anything about anything we lefties care about you are delusional...Fuck them all..We need to vote them all out and vote people like Sharpton and Kucinich in ONLY...Bush will win nexy year for sure..No doubt about it now. :(

[imhotep]

5. im done with this country

fuck it. Piece of shit cowards.

[JeebusH]

8. not surprise by the voice vote, the Imperial Senate in Rome did it ...

when they rubbered stamp the Emperor's wishes, and save for Byrd its the same thing

[Flying_Pig]

9. And lots of those voices were eunuch Democrats.... punks.

n/t

[Voltaire99]

10. What sheep!

Thanks, sheep, for forming an effective opposition once more.

[sventvkg]

11. it's pretty plane that here on DU we are the fringe........

We are realistic while many others aren not. The Dems are OBVIOUSLY NOT the saviours that are made out to be. In fact in the country politics are so narrow that the Democratic candidates by and large on a world scale are actually predominently right leaning...They are NOT true liberals..With the exception of Kucinich, Sharpton and Mosely-braun...I'm over it, refuse to support a faux liberal party or Republican light Dems...Bush will win next year for sure.NO DOUBT about it, then the real horror will begine...The next 4 year term will be the worst time in American History...

[MostlyBlackCat2]

12. so there's no way to find out

who voted, and how???

[htuttle]

13. Nope

I went looking at the Senate rules when I first heard about this, and couldn't find anything about the procedure to force a roll call vote, as opposed to a voice one.

However, in every organization/body/committee where I've had to use Robert's Rules, all it took to force a roll call vote was a single eligible voter asking for it. That would mean that out of 100 Senators, none of them were willing to force a roll call vote (and that seems unlikely, so I'd really like to know what the procedure is).

(on edit)
It seems clear from reading the article that Byrd was the only NAY vote.

[MostlyBlackCat2]

14. can we find out who was there?

that would do the math for us. I'd like to know how many of the presidential candidates skipped this one too. notice that gephardt skipped the House vote on it. no surprise.